Chapter 103: The Earthlike Force, Rending All with a Single Strike

After sustaining multiple injuries, the Golden-Backed Rampage Ape became even more savage and ferocious. Its muscles swelled and bulged across its entire body, and a terrifying black energy surrounded its arms, making them look like hammers of destruction. Every one of its blows landed on the ground, creating craters several meters wide.

Facing it head on, Li Hao was battered by every hit. The armor on his arms was shattered, and his blood boiled as blood vessels ruptured.

Despite all of this, his movements grew even more frenzied. Blood-red true power emanated from the arm wielding the iron pillar, and each wild and demonic strike made the air explode, creating terrifying white shockwaves.

Confronted by such madness, even the ape knew better than to underestimate Li Hao, nor to allow that terrifying iron pillar to strike it anywhere. Whenever it attempted to unleash its full force against the perilous human, however, Xia Youhui would emerge from the sidelines to divert its attention. With his heavy shield, Xia Youhui's defense was formidable enough that he could block even the most frenzied of the ape’s attacks.

Defending against just one such attack would completely exhaust his strength all over again, but as long as Chen Chu and Li Hao could distract it for even just a moment, he could catch his breath and recover. Every time Li Hao was knocked away, Xia Youhui would use the gravitational pull of the Black Tortoise Shifting Mountains technique to forcibly redirect the ape's attacks onto his heavy shield.

This taunt-like move infuriated the ape to no end. Every single time, it would lose the opportunity to finish off the most dangerous of the three. As if that weren't enough, it also had to guard against the sharp-bladed insect.

Boom!

Once again, Li Hao clashed with the ape. The sheer force of the impact sent it briefly crashing onto the ground, causing the surrounding earth to rumble as if a dragon was moving underneath. Even then, Li Hao was relentless, the impact of every one of his desperate attacks forcing the ape to stagger back two more steps.

At that moment, the air behind the ape exploded, and Chen Chu appeared like a shadow to its left. His straight saber emitted black blade qi, slicing through everything in its path.

Despite inflicting over a dozen deep wounds on the ape’s left hind leg, he had only managed to hit the same spot twice. The ape appeared savage, yet it remained cautious, consistently thwarting his attempts to strike the same spot.

This time, taking advantage of its distraction, Chen Chu once again struck. His saber left a trail in the air as it swiftly slashed at the largest wound in the leg's bend.

Splurt!

The saber qi tore through the steel-like muscles, sinking deeper and deeper until it slashed into the ape's sturdy leg bone, penetrating several inches.

Suddenly, Chen Chu felt a strong sense of danger. The muscles around the deep wound abruptly tightened, gripping the straight saber like steel cables.

At the same time, the seemingly unsteady ape's face contorted into a fierce sneer. Its massive body made an abrupt turn, and black light swirled around its robust right arm as the muscles started swelling up, as if gathering a terrifying power.

Boom!

The huge black fist obscured the sky as it came down. Even before the punch landed, the gust of wind and immense pressure that it stirred up made Chen Chu feel breathless.

At that moment, the ape's blood-red eyes gleamed with unparalleled ferocity as the expression on its face changed into a sinister grin, as if silently declaring to Chen Chu,

I've finally got you, little insect.

Chen Chu, however, showed no signs of panic.

"Do you think you're the only strong one here?" As he spoke in a composed tone, the muscles of Chen Chu's left arm expanded like an inflating balloon, and a surge of formidable power, reminiscent of a raging elephant, erupted from his body as he punched upward.

The instant the two fists collided, time seemed to freeze for a moment, followed by the deafening roar of an earthquake.

Bang!

A pale black shockwave exploded, sweeping outward with the force of a hurricane.

Under the purely domineering power, Chen Chu's sturdy left arm bent slightly, and the reinforced armor on his fist emitted a creaking sound under the unbearable pressure. The collision created a several-meter-wide crater beneath him, while his feet sank one meter deep, leaving behind a gigantic, two-meter-wide fist impression.

Even with a Strength attribute exceeding 300, he was no match for the ape, whose body size alone was ten of times larger than his.

But the ape didn’t get away unscathed, either. Due to the smaller area of impact, the force from Chen Chu's fist had been more concentrated, breaking a section of the ape’s middle finger bone, as the rebound force made it stagger back.

Bang!

Chen Chu immediately seized the moment, and the earth beneath him exploded as he shot forward like a cannon. With both hands gripping the hilt of his saber, the true power in his body surged into the long blade through a specialized route.

Wisdom King Slash!

Suddenly, a massive amount of sharp blade qi burst from the trapped saber, tearing and shaking the surrounding muscles like a storm, and then...

Screech screech screech!!

Amid the piercing sound, Chen Chu exerted all his strength, dragging the saber like a saw. He almost completely severed the ape’s leg bone, leaving only fragments still connecting it, then pulled out his saber and ran.

Roar!

Driven mad by the pain, the ape erupted with dazzling black light as it wildly smashed at Chen Chu's retreating figure.

Boom!

The earth shattered, and countless clumps of soil were thrown into the air, dust billowing everywhere.

Roar! Roar! Roar!!

With its leg sawed off, the Rampage Ape went berserk, destroying everything around it, as Li Hao and Xia Youhui quickly retreated.

Chen Chu, now dozens of meters away, gripped the deformed saber as he gasped for breath. His expression remained as cold as ever.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

In the middle of the battle, Chen Chu's mind had completely entered the state of the Sword Armored Beast: cold, ruthless, and unhinged.

Suddenly, after destroying everything within dozens of meters around it, the ape abruptly stopped. It smacked the ground with its huge palms, and the muscles of its intact right leg swelled with terrifying power, before it leapt dozens of meters high with a thunderous roar.

"It’s escaping!"

Watching the Ape descend into the forest, Chen Chu's eyes narrowed, and the earth under him exploded as he leapt up as well to intercept.

Boom!

The ape smacked Chen Chu away, and like a cannonball, he crashed fiercely into the forest over a hundred meters away. He broke several trees before finally coming to a stop.

In terms of pure strength, Chen Chu was significantly weaker than the ape. Considering his own weight and body size, he had had no advantage to leverage in the air.

Thanks to his intervention, however, the force of the recoil interrupted the ape’s jump, and its gigantic body crashed back down to the ground.

The moment Chen Chu took action, Xia Youhui rushed over with his heavy shield.

"We can’t let it escape! I’m not only great at defending, I’m good at fighting back too!" As Xia Youhui shouted, a yellow light swirled around him. Just as the ape landed, he sprang high into the air.

"With the Black Tortoise Earthly Art! Down you go!" He let out a loud shout, and a tremendous and heavy aura burst forth from his body, as if a massive boulder was crashing down.

Xia Youhui was only about 1.8 meters tall, a height that appeared rather insignificant when compared to the ape, which could reach a height of over two meters tall just crouching.

Upon colliding with its chest, however, it was as if he was as heavy as a mountain. The yellow aura bursting forth pinned down the Ape, preventing it from getting up again, as its ferocious face contorted in terrified roars.

As Li Hao charged in alongside Xia Youhui, his entire body surged with strength, and the crimson light bathing him made him look like a fierce bull demon. He wielded the iron pillar with the momentum of a roaring tide and fiercely smashed it down on the ape’s head.

Boom!

Li Hao's full-force blow was something even the ape couldn't withstand. Its skin burst open, blood flowed from its head, and it felt dizzy and disoriented from the impact.

Swish!

There was a flash of darkness in the sky, and Chen Chu descended like a shadow. The two-meter-long saber, like a stream of light, pierced through the tough eyelid and eye of the ape, immediately burrowing all the way through to its brain.

Suddenly, both Chen Chu and Li Hao's faces changed drastically, and without thinking, they quickly moved away. Chen Chu grabbed Xia Youhui’s neck, and all three dropped their weapons, swiftly backing away from the ape.

Roar! Roar! Roar!!

The ape suddenly stood up and roared madly, smashing everything around it. The earth shook, the wind howled, and dust and rubble within a radius of dozens of meters was scattered.

It took almost an entire minute for the ape’s body to finally stiffen, kicking up a cloud of dust as it collapsed with a bang.

"...Finally dead." Xia Youhui lay directly on the ground and gasped for breath, an utterly exhausted, wry smile on his face.

"Well, this hunt was a loss. So much effort to refine that earthly aura, just to use it all up here."

The massive strike he had delivered was a move called the Earthly Explosion, created after the absorption of the Profound Yellow Crystal’s energy. After a sufficient build up of refined earthly aura, this move could release and integrate it with his true power to form a massive pressure that instantly suppressed the enemy.

However, once that aura was released, he would need to recharge it, something that was going to take at least a month. To add insult to injury, the Profound Yellow Crystal had barely any aura remaining—just enough for him to use this move one more time.

If the earthly aura cultivation hadn’t also transformed his physique, these losses would be enough to make him cry.

Li Hao took off his helmet, revealing a rough and fierce face. Blood was still flowing from the corners of his mouth, and his chin and neck were stained red. If it hadn’t been for his innate god-like strength, he would have gotten seriously injured in that head-on collision with the ape.

Compared to them, Chen Chu's condition was much better. Apart from feeling sore all over and having depleted most of his true power, he was fine.

Li Meng finally joined back up with them, laboriously dragging his hammer over as he complained. "Damn it, this was supposed to be a level 3? Did you lie to us, Li Hao?"

"Of course I didn't. This ape really was level 3." Li Hao glanced at him. "But mutated beasts with king-level bloodlines possess terrifying combat power. Why would I have needed you guys here if it really was an ordinary level 3?"

"Uh..." Li Meng was momentarily stumped. What Li Hao said made sense; with the terrifying combat power he had just displayed, powerful enough to surpass the Third Heavenly Realm, he could have swept the ape alone if it had truly been weak.

At this point, Chen Chu spoke up. "Rest for a while, use the medicine to recover from your injuries. I'll go over and check the situation first."

"Alright."

All four had anticipated possible injuries on this hunt. During their preparation beforehand, three of them had spent five contribution points each to exchange for a Blood Jade Fruit.

This was a type of healing resource derived from the fruit of a special plant called the Blood Vine. After consuming it, it could replenish vitality and quickly repair external injuries. Even fractured bones would visibly mend at a speed that didn't affect movement.

However, although the effect was very good, it was also very expensive. Chen Chu had been the only one to not exchange for it. After the avatar’s third evolution, he had tested his physique by cutting his finger; a wound deep enough to see the bone had healed by itself in just one minute.

With a healing rate like that, there was no need to waste precious contribution points on something that he most likely would end up not using at all.

Chen Chu approached the ape’s colossal corpse, leaping onto its massive head. Twenty centimeters of his saber was still protruding from the flesh, and with a two-handed grip on the hilt, he forcefully pulled it out.

Puff!

Blood and some white substance gushed out from its head as Chen Chu held the saber. Stepping down onto the ape's chest, he took a deep breath, and then stabbed the saber back into its flesh.

Squirt! Squirt! Squirt!

Even though the ape was dead, its physical defense was still formidable. Chen Chu struggled a bit to tear open a meter-long wound on its chest, ignoring the gushing blood as he reached in and felt around. His face lit up with joy when he felt himself grab a pigeon-egg-sized red crystal.

Just what he was looking for; a Level 3 Life Crystal.

"High-concentration crystallized life energy detected. Convert to attribute points?"

Looking at the transparent text floating in front of his eyes, Chen Chu chose not to convert at the moment. Not when Li Hao and the others were still nearby.

After resting for about half an hour, the three recovered from the worst of their injuries. Li Hao lifted the corpse of the Golden-Backed Rampage Ape, which was as huge as an elephant and weighed over ten tons.

Chen Chu, Xia Youhui, and Li Meng each carried two level 2 Iron Arm Black Apes, totaling six between them.

Each level 2 mutated beast, when exchanged to the officials, was worth 6 to 7 contribution points. If sold, they could fetch over a hundred thousand yuan each. After all of this effort, they couldn't afford to lose them.

The fur of the level 1 Black Apes was valuable as well, and would have been able to fetch three or four thousand yuan altogether. Unfortunately, there was no way to bring them along as well. Chen Chu gave them one last regretful glance, then followed the three as they left together.

Looking down from high above, it looked like there were four ants below, carrying objects several times their own size in a rather comical scene. Wherever they passed, however, snakes, insects, rats, ants, and other small animals went crazy, fleeing from the invisible heavy aura that emanated from them.